Newport-area felon arrested after gun goes off during Troy argument

TROY, Maine — A man armed with a loaded handgun got into a fight with a Bishop Road property owner on Wednesday afternoon and the weapon went off during the struggle, according to Maine State Police spokesman Stephen McCausland.

“We’re not really sure what sparked the confrontation,” he said Thursday afternoon. “No one was injured.”

Richard Small, 45, of the Newport area went to the residence with another man whom state police have yet to identify and confronted the homeowner, McCausland said. Both Small, who is a felon and not allowed to possess firearms, and the other man took off after the gun went off.

Troopers tracked Small to a residence in Sherman, where he held police at bay for hours.

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“They knew he was inside the home,” McCausland said. “They got the needed amount of troopers there to surrounded the home. They communicated with him … and he came out and surrendered” early Thursday morning.

Small was arrested and charged with criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, reckless conduct with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

He was taken to the Waldo County Jail in Belfast and is being held on $50,000 bail, McCausland said.

No information was available about the man who accompanied Small to Bishop Road, but police want to talk to him, McCausland said.